Louder and Faster: Pain, Joy, and the Body Politic in Asian American TaikoA free open access ebook is available upon publication. Learn more at www.luminosoa.org. Louder and Faster is a cultural study of the phenomenon of Asian American taiko, the thundering, athletic drumming tradition that originated in Japan. Immersed in the taiko scene for twenty years, Deborah Wong has witnessed cultural and demographic changes and the exponential growth and expansion of taiko particularly in Southern California. Through her participatory ethnographic work, she reveals a complicated story embedded in memories of Japanese American internment and legacies of imperialism, Asian American identity and politics, a desire to be seen and heard, and the intersection of culture and global capitalism. Exploring the materialities of the drums, costumes, and bodies that make sound, analyzing the relationship of these to capitalist multiculturalism, and investigating the gender politics of taiko, Louder and Faster considers both the promises and pitfalls of music and performance as an antiracist practice. The result is a vivid glimpse of an Asian American presence that is both loud and fragile. |
Contents
Don | 25 |
The Material Culture of Taiko | 54 |
She Dances on a Taiko | 73 |
Unison and Circles | 105 |
Taiko Erotics and Anger | 118 |
From My JournalLearning and Playing | 155 |
Japanese Japanese American pain | 169 |
How to Leave a Taiko Group | 199 |
Notes | 209 |
Acknowledgments | 229 |
243 | |
American Crossroads | 259 |
Other editions - View all
Louder and Faster: Pain, Joy, and the Body Politic in Asian American Taiko Deborah Wong Limited preview - 2019 |
Common terms and phrases
aesthetic Ameri American taiko groups American taiko players Angeles Aranami argues Asian American audience bachi Beverly bon daiko bon-odori Bruce Lee Buddhist Buddhist Temple choreography chudaiko circle clothing costumes created culture dance dancers Deborah Shirley Deborah drum ensemble ethnographic ethnomusicologist feel film fundoshi gender global happi coats Honō Daiko http://wonglouderandfaster.com identity incarceration Japan Japanese American Japanese taiko Jodo Shinshu kakegoe kata kind Kinnara Kodani Kodo kumi-daiko Little Tokyo look Manzanar Manzanar Pilgrimage martial arts Mitsubishi move movement multiculturalism musicians Nisei Week North American taiko Obon festivals Odori Ondekoza ondo pain participants photographs piece playing taiko pleasure practice racialized relationship samurai San Jose Taiko Sansei Satori Daiko Senryu Senshin Shirley Deborah Shirley social song sound Southern California T-shirts taiko community Taiko Conference taiko performers taiko players Tanaka-sensei TCLA teacher things tion Tom’s traditional wear women writes